Dialectica hedemanni is a moth

Moth

A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...

 of the Gracillariidae

Gracillariidae

Gracillariidae is an important family of insects in the order Lepidoptera and the principal family of leaf miners that includes several economic, horticultural or recently invasive pest species such as the horse-chestnut leaf miner, Cameraria ohridella....

 family. It is known from the Canary Islands

Canary Islands

The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...

 and Madeira

Madeira

Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...

.

The larva

Larva

A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...

e feed on Lavatera acerifolia

Lavatera acerifolia

Malva de Risco A shrub endemic to the Canary Islands. It grows in the basal parts of the islands, in a dry, sunny, environment...

, Lavatera arborea

Lavatera arborea

Lavatera arborea , the Tree Mallow, is a species of mallow native to the coasts of western Europe and the Mediterranean region, from the British Isles south to Algeria and Libya, and east to Greece.- Description :It is a shrubby annual, biennial or perennial plant growing to 0.5–2 m tall...

, Lavatera phoenicea

Lavatera phoenicea

Lavatera phoenicea is a large shrub belonging to the family Malvaceae and tribe Malveae, endemic to the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands....

, Malva neglecta

Malva neglecta

Malva neglecta is also known as Common mallow in the United States and also buttonweed, cheeseplant, cheeseweed, dwarf mallow and roundleaf mallow.Although often considered a weed, this plant is reportedly consumed as a food...

, Malva parviflora

Malva parviflora

Malva parviflora is an annual or perennial herb that is native to Northern Africa, Europe and Asia and is widely naturalised elsewhere. Common names include cheeseweed, cheeseweed mallow, Egyptian mallow, least mallow, little mallow, mallow, marshmallow, small-flowered mallow, small-flowered...

and Malva sylvestris

Malva sylvestris

Malva sylvestris is a species of the Mallow genus Malva in the family of Malvaceae and is considered to be the type species for the genus...

. They mine

Leaf miner

Leaf miner is a term used to describe the larvae of many different species of insect which live in and eat the leaf tissue of plants. The vast majority of leaf-mining insects are moths , sawflies and flies , though some beetles and wasps also exhibit this behavior.Like Woodboring beetles, leaf...

the leaves of their host plant. The mine starts as a broad epidermal corridor. In the end, it becomes a full depth transparent blotch. Some silk is deposited inside the mine and the blotch is hardly puckered. Pupation takes place outside of the mine.